Fraser Hardy is 25-years old. He’s studying for a master’s degree in Mobile Computing and this summer, he’ll do his bit in the fight against cancer by creating an app for charity.

Fraser Hardy is 25-years old. He’s studying for a master’s degree in Mobile Computing at London Metropolitan University and this summer, he’ll do his bit in the fight against cancer by creating an app for the charity Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research.

Fraser’s amazing project is part of Vodafone World of Difference. He’ll spend four months working for the charity and we’ll pay his expenses and cover his salary. By the time he’s finished, the charity will be better off, and so will many more.

“The guys at Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research got in touch with my lecturer at the university,” Fraser explains. “They were looking for someone that could develop a mobile application. I met up with the guys from the charity and I thought it would be perfect to get involved with alongside my studies.”

This year, 500 World of Difference winners will help charities across the UK

Fraser had already graduated with a degree in Computer Systems from Plymouth University, and gone on to work for a couple of years as a Windows app developer, but now he’ll be making an app for charity.

“Most of the apps I’ve done before now have been as part of my university work,” he explains, “I’ve done one for a small karate school, which is just going through the Apple approval process at the moment, and I’ve worked on my own projects as part of my portfolio over the last year.”

“We’re planning to make the app open source. It won’t just be Lymphoma and Leukemia Research that will benefit.”

The app he’ll make for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research will be used by people with blood cancers so they can have vital up-to-date information about their particular illness to hand at any time. It also gives its users handy information about what the charity does, as well as providing a way for people to make donations. Potentially, Fraser’s creation will recruit new supporters, as well as raise money.

But what makes Fraser’s work so exciting and truly generous is the way that he intends to share it when he is finished.

“We’re planning to make the app open source,” he says. “The idea is that we produce it for this charity, but then put all the source code out there so that anyone from another charity can, with just a small amount of work, adjust the style and the layout slightly to fit with their requirements.”

Fraser’s app could spawn a multitude of copycat apps, each doing great work for the charities they support.

“The idea is that it won’t be only the Lymphoma and Leukemia Research guys that will benefit, but others as well.”

During his World of Difference placement, Fraser will work on Android and Apple iOS platforms. He’ll be contributing to every stage of the process from the initial design process through to the wire-frame designs and final development.

“The perfect outcome of my four months with the charity would be to have an Android and Apple app developed, perfectly polished and on the App Store for a launch,” he says. “I’d also be pretty pleased if others use it and add some additional features to it. That would be ideal.”